About.com Mathematics

Looking for a Career in Math?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:40:20 +0000

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) has an oustanding career section for those interested in pursuing careers in mathematics. Not only will you find the job listings but you'll also find a wealth of information pertaining to early prep., issues great advice for new PHDs and programs. If you haven't visited the AMS site before, it's well worth a bookmark.

Looking for a Career in Math? originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 13:40:20.

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Scientific Notation Worksheets

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:14:47 +0000

Check out the scientific notation worksheets with answers on the 2nd page of the PDF. After all, practice makes perfect, or at least improves learning!

Not sure about Scientific Notation? It's really just a method of writing very large or very small numbers in a form of shorthand. Scientists developed this method many years ago to provide them with a method to save time by easily representing numbers by using less characters. See more.

Scientific Notation Worksheets originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 13:14:47.

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What Can We Learn From Martin Gardner?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:37 +0000

The year was 1956, Martin Gardner who had never taken a math course since high school left his job with Humpty Dumpty and began writing recreational math for Scientific American. Mr. Gardner just turned 95 and has now published 70 books! He has probably turned more people on to the joy of math than anyone else! Why? Because he makes math fun! "He has turned thousands of children into mathematicians, and thousands of mathematicians into children." Ronald Graham, University of California.

Many teachers use Gardner's puzzles as part of the problem solving in their math program. Making math fun should be the goal for all math teachers. Learn more about Gardner in the NYT article.

What Can We Learn From Martin Gardner? originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 08:00:37.

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Singapore Math

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:04:59 +0000

Why is it that this tiny country scores so high in mathematics? Is it their curriculum? Is it their superior approach to teaching math? Do Singapore students actually have superior ability?

Something they're doing is working and it sure would be nice to know just what is working. Other countries could certainly learn from and benefit from whatever it is that is working there, I would think.

Note: The Singapore Math Curriculum and the actual core math curriculum/program used in Singapore are NOT the same. As a result of Singapore's success, the Singapore Math Curriculum is getting a great deal of attention. However, even if it is their curriculum, every curriculum has its drawbacks. Curriculum tends to be implemented differently, sequenced differently and taught by teachers who have varying levels of expertise with math. It's also known that many districts have tried Singapore Math, only to drop it later. Why didn't it work for them? Singapore Math is a curriculum/framework that was developed based on some of the findings about how math is taught in Singapore. And, as I mention earlier, Singapore is doing something right. Here are some of the research articles about Singapore Math:
Singapore Math Research

Research in PDF

Be sure to post your experiences and/or opinions about Singapore Math, it's a popular topic.

Singapore Math originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 15:04:59.

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Order of Operations

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:16:09 +0000

The order of operations is taught usually in the 7th grade and is used immensely for many grades beyond. Usually the problem with teaching the order of operations is that it becomes a task for memory. Hence, it's more important that students understand why there is order.

Be sure to use manipulatives and basic questions when starting out with the order of operations. Here are some great basic worksheets to start with.

See also, how to solve the classic algebra age problem questions that tend to appear in most math text books.

Order of Operations originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 11:16:09.

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Math in the Emergency Room

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:16:32 +0000

Mathematical discoveries are all around us, even in our hospital emergency rooms! Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have developed the first mathematical model in cardiology and emergency medicine to more quickly and reliably diagnose acute heart failure in emergency room patients. Read the full story in the Science Daily, a great research based site.

Math in the Emergency Room originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 19:16:32.

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New Worksheets This Week

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:06:58 +0000

This week, it's back to Algebra 1 for Solving the Quadratic Equations by Factoring, the answers are always found on the 2nd page of the pdf. If you've done these, be sure to check out the Quadratic Equations requiring the Quadratic Formula and you'll be in great shape for your Algebra 1 courses!

Calculus Derivatives

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:46:50 +0000

Everything you need right here:

Chain Rule and the Chain Rule Formula
The Constant Rule
Constant Power Rule
Logarithmic Functions
Power Rule
Product Rule
Quotient Rule

See also: The Formula Index

Calculus Derivatives originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 13:46:50.
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Quadratic Formula Worksheets

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:32:13 +0000

The quadratic formula is used to complete the roots of a quadratic equation, especially when the factors are fractions or decimals. If you're taking Algebra, using the Quadratic Formula is just part of the topic. These worksheets have been developed to help you become competent in using the quadratic Formula.

Quadratic Formula Worksheets originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 10:32:13.

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Math: When Will I Ever Use This Stuff?

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:38:23 +0000

It's a question I've heard many times in my career and being a strong believer that math is an opportunity gateway, I have no trouble answering it. Well, Tony DeRose, a computer scientist at Pixar Animation Studios, who also asked the same question was able to realize his love of mathematics by bringing the pretend world of animation to life. According to Tony:

"Without mathematics, we wouldn't have these visually rich environments, and visually rich characters."

See the full article on how math and the movies go hand in hand.

Math: When Will I Ever Use This Stuff? originally appeared on About.com Mathematics on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 14:38:23.

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